


Defining family

by Angelle_wings



Category: AI: The Somnium Files (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, True Ending Spoilers, mizuki ending spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22141612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelle_wings/pseuds/Angelle_wings
Summary: Takes place after true ending, Mizuki and Aiba have a small chat with one another to define what 'family' means.
Relationships: Aiba & Okiura Mizuki, Date Kaname & Okiura Mizuki
Comments: 10
Kudos: 74





	Defining family

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Kisara who was my beta for this fic!

_Bzzt Bzzt_

Mizuki turned to the sound, the eyeball that was inanimate just a moment ago was now buzzing and swaying from side to side and the spherical shape slowly morphed into a more gooey, squishy and jelly-like hamster, the form that Mizuki knew best.

“Hey Aiba.” Mizuki smiled, it was the first time Mizuki saw Aiba come back to life after losing charge and it was an odd sight to say the least. The wire was attached from the console of Date’s computer to the center of Aiba’s slimy body. How did that wire still work? Mizuki didn’t know.

“Oh, hello Mizuki. Did Date go out?” Aiba, who gave a glance around the room finally turned to face her, Mizuki was sitting comfortably by the desk scrolling through some website on Date’s computer. “He said that he would before my battery died out.” 

“Yeah, he did.” Mizuki nodded, she turned herself to face Aiba. “He went out to buy a few things from the convenience store- but I guess you knew that.” 

“I see,” Aiba responded. 

Mizuki pointed at wire and said, “I expected a bit more...”

“A bit more?” Aiba repeated.

“Yeah, you’re an A.I. can’t you just- I don’t know- not charge?” Mizuki explained. “This feels a little…”

Anticlimactic was the word she was looking for. But she didn’t say it, she didn’t need to, her gesturing did all the speaking for her.

“Oh!” Aiba laughed. “I wish I could do that, but it’s just like you humans- you need rest and so do we. Ours is just a little different- also a lot faster.” 

“So, how come I never caught him charging you?” Mizuki asked. What caused her surprised was that she had lived with Date for a little over four years and, even though she caught him speaking to himself (which she later found out was that he was actually speaking to Aiba), she never really caught him without his prosthetic eyeball or ever charging it. And that was nearly a mystery to her, especially knowing that it was Date (of all people) keeping that secret.

“He would charge me in his car usually, when going to work. Other times, we would do it when you were at school or if you were asleep, but now that you know about me it’s a lot easier for him to charge me since he doesn’t really need to hide it from you,” Aiba clarified.

“And without an eyeball now…” Mizuki continued with her line of questioning. “He can function just fine?”

“Yes, he can see from his right eye so there is no problem with his vision.” Aiba nodded, she moved herself closer to Mizuki (as far as the wire permitted her to go) before continuing. “But as for function? I am not sure. If he sees a magazine or two, no one will be able to stop him today.”

“You know him pretty well, Aiba.” Mizuki laughed. 

“Unfortunately,” Aiba sighed.“We are partners, after all. And everything he knows, I know, too. For example, I know a lot about you, too, Mizuki. Not as much as I know Date, of course, but I do know.” 

“Oh yeah?” Mizuki raised a brow. “Like what?” 

“Well, I am his left eye.” Aiba reminded her, “So, _everything_ he knows, I know too.”

“… So, if I ask you anything about him, you could answer for me?” Mizuki’s eyes sparkled and she had a huge grin plastered on her face.

Aiba knew that look, a look of mischief and Mizuki was up to something and, after a pause, curiosity took the best of her, “Sure.”

Mizuki nearly jumped with joy, and with an even bigger grin she exclaimed, “Alright! I got a good question! Did he stay up playing Shovel Forge last night?”

Aiba didn’t know what made Mizuki assume this was a ‘good’ question, but she wasn’t about to retract her offer. With a sigh, Aiba responded honestly. “Yes.”

“So _he_ stole my stuff on Iris’s server, didn’t he!?” Mizuki added.

“Also correct.”

“ _I don’t like Shovel Forge!”_ Mizuki mocked him with a higher pitched voice, though Aiba could easily do a better and more flawless imitation of Date she didn’t say a thing, she thought Mizukis over-exaggerated imitation was admittedly more entertaining. Mizuki rolled her eyes. “What a liar!”

“Surely you have other questions than Shovel Forge?” Aiba asked, hoping to change the topic. She decided she didn’t want to get dragged into their petty arguments about Shovel Forge, of all things.

“Of course!” Mizuki answered, half-offended and half-surprised to think Aiba thought so little of her; she was only just starting. She leaned in closer and whispered, “he ate my pudding last week, didn’t he?”

Aiba sighed. Sometimes Mizuki was the mature one between them, but right now she was just like any other twelve year old. But Aiba said she could ask anything and so she only had herself to blame for digging herself in this hole in the first place. She nodded again. “Also correct.”

Mizuki dissolved into a fit of laughter, Aiba nearly jumped. “I knew it! _This_ is blackmail material!”

Something told Aiba that she would regret answering those questions. Date was stupid, sure, but if he put two and two together he would definetly figure out Mizuki had a little help from her. But, again, it was too late to back away from that now, so as soon as Mizuki stopped laughing, Aiba asked, “Any more questions?”

Mizuki fell into silence. She tapped her finger against the table and cleared her throat,“Well, what question can’t I ask?” 

“Hm...” Aiba observed Mizuki who stared at her patiently, the sudden shift in tone took her by complete surprise, Aiba started. “I told you I knew Date, so whatever I know he won’t be bothered by me answering, I’ll answer. Thus far, the questions you asked are stuff you already figured out, so I don’t think Date will mind me answering.” 

“…Something Date won’t mind you answering, huh? Forget about it, then.” Mizuki shrugged. She knew it wasn’t something Aiba could answer in the first place, so asking would be no use. 

“Forget?” Aiba tilted her head. “I suggest you tell me. Perhaps it’s a question I can’t answer for him but I may be able to _help_ you find your answer. But if I don’t even know the question in the first place, then I wouldn’t know if I can help you, would I?“

That was true, Mizuki admitted, but it was nearly embarrassing to ask. But after moments of contemplation Mizuki decided she wasn’t going to lose anything and quietly said, “Do you... think Date sees me as family?”

Aiba barely moved, she only looked back at her blankly (well, she was expressionless in that form- so every expression was blank.) Mizuki realized it must have been stupid to ask an artificial intelligence who had no experience whatsoever about it but it didn’t matter. It didn’t. With a wave of her hand and a smile, she dismissed it. “Forget it, I knew that was a bad question. Let’s go back-”

“No, in fact, I think it’s a fantastic question.” Aiba interrupted. It was unlike Aiba to interject so randomly in an uncalculated manner, but she admitted it was that smile that _pulled_ her to interrupt...and so she couldn’t just let the topic pass so easily. “I can’t answer _for_ him, but I can help you find the answer, is that alright for you?”

Mizuki nodded.

“I will ask you a couple of questions and let’s work around that,” said Aiba. 

Mizuki nodded again.

Aiba took a moment, this time carefully analyzing the situation as she proceeded to ask, “This is the first question, Mizuki- what would you define a family to be?”

Mizuki started tapping her fingers against the table once more. She still wondered why she was playing along with an artificial intelligence who may not know the answer to her own question, but she figured it might as well continue. Mizuki took a deep breath and responded, “I’d say… A family is...a perfectly ‘ordinary’ relationship in the most ‘ordinary’ way. Like you say, ‘I’m home!’ and you get a, ‘Welcome Home!’ back. Doing those ‘ordinary’ things automatically, without even thinking about it, is what family is.”

Aiba was expressionless, only with a nod she proceeded with the next question. “What is Date to you?”

“Easy- an idiot, a stupid preverted old man…” Mizuki answered, but after those words Aiba watched as her expression softened and a smile tug on her lips. “But that idiot… he’s special to me. He took me in, took care of me all these years when my mom wouldn’t and daddy was busy. When I feel down he never forces me to talk, but he’s there. He’s always there. He listens to me, he laughs with me, he argues with me… he’s-”

“Family?”

“He’s family to _me_.” Mizuki clarified. “With him, everything is ‘ordinary.’ Just like what I told you. But how does he see me? What am I to him? Did he adopt me because he felt like he needed to after mom and daddy died? If they were alive… would he still be the family I have or would they be? Would things have worked out differently? A family is not my decision alone- it’s what he thinks too- but I can’t just _ask_ that.”

“And?” Aiba answered almost immediately

Mizuki blinked- she was expecting silence followed by more life-contemplating questions not a remark, “And what?”

“And what if any of those other things happened- what does it matter?” Aiba explained. “You’re overthinking it- I would tell you to ask him to confirm but if we were talking logically, from my viewpoint I see that you all are already family.”

Mizuki blinked, “You… think so?” 

“No.” Aiba shook her head. “I _know_ you are. Would he have adopted you otherwise? You’re special to him, Mizuki, the same way he is to you- but I don’t think there is any shame of asking him yourself.”

“Aiba...” Mizuki grinned. “You know, you’re family too Aiba.”

“I don’t think an A.I-“

“Nonsense.” Mizuki snorted, an artificial intelligence who took the time to help her understand what she couldn’t? That was not something she was just going to dismiss. “You’re family whether you like it or not- You, me and Date-“

The door handled rattled before Mizuki could continue that sentence, both Aiba and Mizuki turned to face a scruffy dark haired individual they both knew too well. He smiled. “What about me? Missed me?”

“We were just talking about how late you were.” Mizuki lied, “I’m hungry.”

Mizuki pulled herself to her feet and faked a yawn. 

“Go cook yourself something.” Date raised a brow, placing a couple of plastic bags at the living room table. He pointed to himself. “I am _soaking_ wet from the rain- I need a bath.”

“No, go back to the store, I want pudding.” Mizuki smiled. “The one you stole last week. And also you are cooking lunch today since you _also_ stole my items in Shovel Forge.”

Date gaped, “Aiba- you told her?!” 

Aiba knew this was going to come for her, she shrugged. “She figured it out herself.” 

“Mizuki, it was Ota that-“

“You can’t lie to me!’ Mizuki yelled. ”I know you did it!”

“Where else was I going to get a diamond sword?!”

“You could _ask_! You’re unbelievable-“

The argument, as calculated, continued to unfold in front of Aiba and she watched. That worried and scared expression that Mizuki had in front of Aiba faded and there she was, arguing with full confidence and, as usual, winning it. And at one point Date resorted to literally running as far as he can from Mizuki before she uses any of her martial arts against him. 

Mizuki tossed a pillow his way, Date caught and placed it on his face. Mizuki frowned. “No fair! You can’t use a pillow to defend yourself from my punch!” 

“Aiba, help me!” Date pleaded. “You put me in this mess!”

“Uh-uh, you can’t cheat using your prosthetic eyeball.” Mizuki yelled back. 

“I can not comprehend what you are saying- I am connected to a power supply- charging- 78%.”

“Don’t play A.I. on me _now!”_

Date glanced at Mizuki and Mizuki back at him and back at to Aiba and at that moment, none of them could hold their laughter. Laughter filled the room, and the happiness, the joy that day somehow Aiba knew, no, not only her, Mizuki and Date knew too, that this was truly a family by all definitions- one that she is a part of too.

**Author's Note:**

> I like to believe what happens in one timeline will always happen in the next even if delayed so I decided to write that chat that Date and Mizuki had of what a family was in another way, this time in the eye of an AI (very funny I know.) Just figured I’d give an eyeball some place in this adorable family. And also I just wanted to explore more of Mizukis and Aibas relationship and Mizuki and date hjfkhd hope you enjoyed.


End file.
